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Dec 17, 2012LAST WORD | Steve Tobak

Topics > Running a Business >

Why Employee Engagement Is NotImportant (Yes, Really)This is not a joke--it's every executive's dirtylittle secret. Here is the real listof priorities within successful companies.

shutterstock images

Employee engagement is all the rage these days. Id even go as far as to call it the

management fad of the millennium. But heres the thing. Its just a rebrand of

something thats been around forever -- employee satisfaction -- and its not at all clear

that the surveys do companies a bit of good.

Sure, we all want our employees to care about their jobs and the success of the

company. But some experts say theres no compelling evidence that employee

engagement surveys and strategies improve business results. One even flat out called

employee engagement a racket. And I happen to agree.

So why have so many companies jumped on the bandwagon? Because, thats how

management fads like this work. Its popular, it sounds good, and its easy. You just

hire Gallup, do a survey, announce some strategies, and poof, instant engagement.

Companies do half-baked stuff like that all the time. I've seen it over and over. Half the

time it backfires because they're not measuring the right factors, they don't make the

right changes, they fix one thing and screw up another, or they dont follow up at all. In

reality, theres a high risk of actuallylosing credibility with employees.

And get this. When it comes to management priority, Id say that employees should be

more or less at the bottom of the list. Yeah, I know thats not a popular sentiment and

its probably going to piss off a lot of people, but just hear me out.

A couple of weeks ago I did a mock interview with an executive Im coaching. One of

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the interview questions I posed was this: You have employees, external customers,

internal customers (stakeholders or peers), and your boss. Put them in order of

priority in terms of serving their needs.

Regardless of the type of company or organization, heres the answer and why:

1. External customers

The purpose of any company or business is to win and keep customers. Without

customers, theres no business, no shareholder value, and no jobs. Since there are afinite number of customers, in practical terms, they are irreplaceable. Theyre always

the highest priority.

2. Your boss

Your boss is more important to the success of the company than you and your peers.

You may not like hearing that, but in just about every case, its true. You may think

youre more competent than your boss and you might even be right. But that doesnt

change the fact that his function incorporates yours and is higher up on the org chart

so, by definition, his needs top yours or your peers.

3. Internal customers (stakeholders or peers)

Each and every one of you has peers, stakeholders, internal customers whose functions

are intertwined with yours and whose needs are important. Marketing folks, for

example, should count product groups and sales as their stakeholders. You should

make it a priority to meet with them periodically and ask them how youre doing. Next

to paying customers and your boss, theyre needs matter most.

4. Employees

So, here we are. The dirty little secret no executive, business leader, or manager ever

wants to admit. Nevertheless, its true. Employees are at the bottom of the totem pole

in terms of how important their needs are to their management. Thats all there is to it.

Dont get me wrong. Creating a culture where employees are empowered, challenged,

and supported, where they can really make a difference, should be huge for any

company. But all things being equal, as priorities go, employees come in dead last on

that list. Sobering as that sounds, its entirely as it should be.

Push comes to shove, guess who gets the short end of the stick? Which is precisely why

each and every one of you should take complete responsibility for your career, your

success, and your happiness. At the end of the day, nobody else cares about you

anywhere near as much as you do.

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Steve Tobak is a management consultant, executive coach, and former senior executive

of the technology industry. He's managing partner ofInvisor Consulting, a Silicon

Valley-based strategy consulting firm. Contact Steve, follow him onFacebook,Twitter,

orLinkedIn. @SteveTobak

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Wednesday at 1:40pm

Great article. I always laugh when I read "employees are our most important asset". The bottom line is

all people in organizations look at every aspect of their existence from WIFM. It is human nature...and

there's nothing inherently wrong about that. he best leaders, though, will strike a balance and serve

other's needs...without compromising profits, ethics, or organizational needs.

LIKE REPLY

Wednesday at 2:34amIt doest not make sense. We have seen employee engagement working for us and other companies .

Employee engagement underpins the success of any organization . Why do you think companies are

at war for talent ? The answer is simply , they know that they can't deliever on your promises with out

having inspired and emotionally engaged employees .

LIKE REPLY

Tuesday at 12:32am

Steve,

This may be your feelings but not facts. There are umpteen numbers of studies/research which have

proven the financial impact on both top & bottom lines. Please revisit your approach.

LIKE REPLY

Monday at 12:16pm

The old " 4 phone's CEO dilemna" : you get 4 phone calls at the same time from these 4 callers. Whichone do you answer first ? Answer : there is no right answer to a wrong question ! Steve Tobback

should know or stop working in the consulting industry !

LIKE REPLY

Monday at 10:17am

I've always thought you have to care about all 4? That's why they call it leadership!

LIKE REPLY

Friday at 3:29pm

how can an executive position his/her boss as a second priority? before peers and employees . What

kind of executives we have? Thats why companies dont have engaged employees

LIKE REPLY

December 20, 2012 at 11:21am

Was this meant to provoke or are you serious?

LIKE REPLY


No even worth a comment...

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World's Coolest Offices 30 Under 30 Founders Forum How I Did It The Playbook


Steve, Engagement is not a fad. Engagement is about basic human behavior - it's about choice.

Employees make many small decisions each day. One small decision may not impact the corporation,

but if 10,000 employees chose to make a bad decision (or no decision), it's going to hurt. It's death by

many small cuts. The employees seem to be doing their jobs but the company isn't hitting its objectives

and it doesn't understand why. The answer begins with asking the right questions about the choices

employees make and why they make them. For example, its 5 PM do I go home or do I stay and

respond to a colleague in San Diego who is waiting for my information in order to solve a customers

problem.

Engagement is the process of getting each employee to make a choice to go the extra mile, either for

their company (or more likely) for their colleagues. Regarding your point that there is no compelling

evidence that engagement impacts corporate performance, I suggest you look at the TowersWatsonGlobal Workforce Study (2008) and later editions which document the direct relationship between

financial performance and the level of employee engagement. Mercer, IABC, Blessing White, Buck and

others offer similar studies that document that companies with engaged employees will typically

provide better financial performance.

Engagement is not a fad or a soft science. It is about discovering the keys that unleash employee

performance which has a direct impact on the bottom line.

Employees make many small decisions each day. One small decision may not impact the corporation,

but if 10,000 employees chose to make a bad decision (or no decision), it's going to hurt. It's death by

many small cuts. The company isn't hitting it's objectives and it doesn't understand why.

Engagement is the process of getting each employee to make a choice to go the extra mile, either for

their company (or more likely) for their colleagues. Regarding your point that there is no compelling

evidence that engagement impacts corporate performance, I suggest you look at the TowersWatson

Global Workforce Study (2008) and later editions which document the direct relationship between

financial performance and the level of employee engagement.

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I can't believe this is even published. Period.

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